Should Kim Zolciak Be Allowed To Return To ‘DWTS’?: The Cast Is Split

Should Kim Zolciak have been forced to withdraw from ‘Dancing With The Stars’…or not? That’s STILL the question on everyone’s mind following her Sept. 28 elimination, and some of the show’s cast members are weighing in, too. Find out what Derek Hough, Carlos Penavega & more had to say about this situation!

Kim Zolciak, 37, and Tony Dovolani are SO bummed that they can’t continue their run on Dancing With The Stars after her mini-stroke…but how does the rest of the cast feel about the pair being forced to withdraw? See what some of the pros and stars had to say on the subject after the Sept. 28 episode!

In case you need a refresher: Kim suffered from a mini stroke on Sept. 23, and although she was cleared by her doctors to dance, she was unable to fly from Atlanta to Los Angeles after her hospitalization. The show’s rules state that anyone who can’t dance because of an illness or injury will be eliminated, and lawyers declared the Bravo star fit this category.

Kim and Tony begged the show to let them come back and continue on next week, but it doesn’t look like they’ll get their wish. See what their fellow pro dancers and celebrities had to say about it when they dished to E! News:

Mark Ballas: “I mean, look — if it’s in the contract, it’s in the contract. If it’s in the rules, it’s in the rules. We’ve had people withdraw before, just not in this fashion. So, what are you going to do? The reality is: Health and family comes first. It’s not easy. This is a fun show, it’s glitz and glam, but it’s very physical and you never want to put yourself at risk.”

Emma Slater: “I think that she made the absolute right choice. And I even think…okay, maybe if she was able to perform next week, I don’t think it would sit very will with her. I’m just not sure that it’s really worth it in the whole grand scheme of things.”

Hayes Grier: “She’s a mother. She has six kids. So, she definitely needs to take care of the family — family comes first.”

Allison Holker: “It’s just an unfortunate situation. It was really disheartening. I’m so happy we’re safe, but I feel so bad for her misfortune right now, because, you know, she’s going through a lot.”

Guest judge Alfonso Ribiero: “At the end of the day, she has to take care of her health. I don’t care what the circumstance is. She has six kids, she has a husband. She has to take care of her health.”

Tony Dovolani: “I was in the hospital with her for three days. I know what I saw. There’s no way she was going to be able to fly. Until the doctors clear you to fly…you can’t screw around with that.”

Lindsay Arnold: “It’s such a tough thing. Because it’s so hard to see her go, but, like she said, her family is the most important thing to her. At the end of the day, you need to be able to take care of yourself and make sure you’re okay. I’m proud of her. It’s a tough decision, but she’s putting her family first and realizing she needs to get better.”

Carlos Penavega: “I’m happy that she chose her health and she chose to be wit her family. For me, family comes first. I do feel badly because this show takes a lot out of you and we’ve all worked so hard. The show ends tonight, but tomorrow morning, we’re back working. Regardless of what happened, she was still trying to learn the dances. She was still working hard. I’d give her another shot.”

Witney Carson: “I would [give her another shot], too. Four days is so short. If she had just one more day she would be here.”

Sharna Burgess: “I think it was the universe saying, “Baby, you need to take care of your health.” And things happen for a reason. She came here and met us and has a whole world of support from all of her family here. She just got a warning. She has a beautiful family to take care of and she’s a beautiful woman with so much life ahead of her. Dancing With The Stars is not big enough for her to risk that.”

Derek Hough: “If they wanted to have her come back, absolutely. I’d absolutely be fine with that. Why wouldn’t we be? This is a competition, but it’s not a normal competition. You never want to see an injustice for somebody, or somebody miss out on something they could’ve done. The real sad thing was she can dance, but she couldn’t fly. That, for me, was a bummer.”